Lemon Blueberry Donuts

My baked lemon blueberry donuts are absolutely delicious! A soft fluffy lemon donut with beautiful pops of blueberry topped with a stunning blueberry glaze. These taste every bit as good as they look, a real showstopper!

Spring has sprung!

Nothing says “spring” to me quite like the lemon and blueberry combo. From muffins to tarts and cakes to scones, it’s such a happy flavour pairing, I absolutely adore it!

And did you know that blueberries give such a glorious colour as in this glaze? I certainly didn’t until I made this for the first time, and now I can’t get enough!

What ingredients do I need to make these blueberry donuts?

• Flour: this recipe uses plain flour (all purpose if you’re in the US). If you wanted to use whole wheat flour, I wouldn’t recommend a straight substitute but 50/50 whole wheat and white flour instead
• Caster sugar: this adds sweetness to the donuts.
• Baking powder/bicarbonate of soda: these are the leavening agents in this bake.
• Salt: enhances the flavour of your bake. You won’t taste it, don’t worry!
• Lemon zest and juice: for fresh lemony flavour in your donuts.
• Milk: adds to the liquid requirements of this donut recipe.
• Egg: gives structure to your bake and helps with the rise of it too.
• Lemon extract: purely for flavour. If you don’t have lemon extract, you could use 1 tbsp of lemon juice instead.
• Melted butter: this is the fat content of the recipe. Butter helps keep your bake moist and trap air during baking, leading to a fluffier bake.
• Blueberries: for pops of blueberry in ever bite of your donut, plus used in your glaze and garnish.
• Icing/powdered sugar: used in the icing/glaze. Better than other sugar options as it dissolves more easily making for smoother glaze for your donuts!

What equipment do I need to make lemon blueberry donuts?

• Donut pan*: you will need a 6 hold donut pan to make baked donuts. 
• Pastry brush*: to help brush melted butter on your donut pan before baking.
• Digital kitchen scales*: whilst I do provide cup measurements for all my recipes, I always recommend using digital kitchen scales to weigh your ingredients out instead. Weighing out your ingredients is much more accurate than measuring by volume, as you do with cups, and will ensure better results. Digital scales are now relatively inexpensive and widely available.
• Measuring spoons*: for measuring smaller quantities such as tablespoons (tbsp) and teaspoons (tsp), I would recommend getting a set of spoons such as these as they would be far more accurate than using your everyday eating spoons.
• Mixing bowl*: any bowl large enough will do, plastic, glass, the choice is yours!
• Whisk*: totally optional, but good to aerating your dry ingredients.
• Spatula*: to use to mix ingredients together.
• Jug*: used to mix your wet ingredients in before combining with your dry ingredients.
• Piping bags*: I use a piping bag to fill my donut pan with the batter as I find this easier and less messy. You can, of course, just spoon it in too, piping is totally optional!
• Small saucepan*: for cooking down your blueberries for the glaze.
• Small bowls*: to use as part of glazing/decorating your donuts.

How to make homemade lemon blueberry donuts

The basic donut recipe uses simple ingredients you probably already have at home. The mixture doesn’t take long to come together, so you can be enjoying some delicious blueberry donuts in record time!

For the donuts:

Step 1: Brush your donut pan with some melted butter and set it aside. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F while you make your donut mixture.

Step 2: Into a large mixing bowl, sift in the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Zest your lemon directly into your bowl, whisk it all lightly to combine, then set aside.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, or ideally a jug, tip in the milk, egg and lemon extract and whisk together. Gradually add in the melted butter, whisking as you go so your butter doesn’t solidify when it hits the cold ingredients in the jug. Pour your wet ingredients into the bowl with your dry ingredients and mix together until just combined.

Step 4: Transfer your donut batter to a piping bag and fill your donut pan no more than ⅔ full. Stud your mixture in the pan with the blueberries, pushing in gently to submerge a little. Using a skewer or the end of a knife, carefully cover your blueberries with some of the batter from around them. This will ensure your blueberries are completely within your donuts when baked, giving you a smooth outside to your donuts. Bake in your preheated oven for 9-10 minutes until a skewer comes out clean and your donuts are springy to touch. Cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then carefully loosen and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely while you prepare your glaze.

For the glaze:

Step 1: To make the glaze, pop in your blueberries and lemon juice in a pan and heat until your blueberries soften and bleed their colour into the liquid. Take them off the heat and blend or mash (I used a hand blender) until completely blended down. At this point you can sieve this mixture to remove any remaining blueberry skins, if you wish to have a completely smooth glaze. Add in as much icing sugar as you need to make a glaze-like consistency, whisking it all together until it’s completely smooth. Transfer to a small bowl for dipping. In a separate small bowl, mix together your extra 2 tbsp icing sugar with the lemon juice to make the white icing drizzle.

Step 2: When your donuts are cool, dip them into the blueberry glaze, gently scraping off the excess if you don’t want it to be dripping down the side. Leave the glaze to set a few minutes, then decorate with (white) lemon drizzle across one side and garnish with a few extra blueberries. Enjoy!

What is a donut pan?

A donut pan is similar to a muffin pan, except the holes you put your batter in are shaped more like donuts, with a rounded bottom and a central stem to keep your dough baking in a donut shape. They are easily available in many stores and online, and can be found as silicone forms or more traditional steel, like cake tins are.

How do you remove the donuts from the tin?

Once you’ve removed your donut pan from the oven, let it sit on your cooling rack for 2-3 minutes. Then, very gently, use a (rounded) knife to gently ease the donuts to make sure they’re loosened from the pan. If you greased your pan before baking, they should easily pop out.

How long do these lemon blueberry donuts last and how do I store blueberry donuts?

These donuts will last 2-3 days if stored in a cool place and in an airtight container. However, they are best enjoyed on the day they are made.

Can you freeze donuts?

Absolutely! Freeze your donuts before you glaze or decorate them for best results, and freeze for up to two months. Keep reading for how to freeze your donuts.

How to freeze donuts

I would recommend not decorating your donuts before freezing, but after defrosting instead. I like to use large (sealable) food or freezer bags to freeze mine.

Cut two pieces of parchment slightly smaller than your bag, then slide one into the bottom of your bag. Place your donuts, in one layer, on the paper and top with the second piece of parchment paper. Gently push as much air out of the bag as possible and seal almost all the way, leaving a little part unsealed. Using a straw, carefully slip it into the unsealed part of your bag and use it to suck the remaining air out of the bag. This will make it look like it’s shrinking and make the paper contract against the donuts which is exactly what you want – perfect! Once you’ve got as much air out as you can, seal the bag and lay it flat in your freezer. 

How to thaw your donuts

When you want to enjoy your frozen donuts again, just thaw them in the fridge overnight, then bring them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before decorating to come to room temperature. If you are short on time (or you forget to pop them in the fridge!), you can warm the donuts in short bursts directly in the microwave, but this can run the risk of drying them out, so I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’re desperate!

Can I make these lemon blueberry donuts gluten free and dairy free?

Yes! You can substitute your plain/all purpose flour for a gluten free flour, but do add an additional ¼ tsp Xanthan gum for a better texture. For dairy free options similarly use a plant based milk and butter. Also don’t forget to grease your tins with dairy free butter.

Additional tips for making this donuts recipe

• Make sure you’ve prepared your tools before you start mixing: grease your pan and preheat your oven. It’s easy to forget once you start mixing!
• Leave your donuts to cool completely before decorating. They don’t take long, maybe 20 minutes or so. Doing it sooner could result in them breaking or crumbling as you dip them in your glaze.
• If you wish, you can sieve your blueberry/lemon mixture before mixing with icing (powdered) sugar for your glaze. This will give you a beautiful smooth glaze for your donuts.
• When dipping your donuts in the glaze, first make sure your glaze isn’t too thick to risk pulling and breaking your donuts. I find it easiest to pop it in face down, wiggle it a little on the surface of the glaze, then very gently twist it to get it up off the glaze. Do use a blunt knife to help you lift it if needed, then just smooth the glaze over if required.

Troubleshooting

If you have any other questions about this recipe, please use the comments below to ask away and I’ll do my best to help! And if you made and enjoyed this, I’d love to hear from you too!

And don’t forget: if you make this recipe for baked donuts, please do consider leaving a rating and review below, I would love to know how you enjoy making them! You could even post a picture on Instagram and tag me when you share it with the world!

More donut recipes to enjoy

Don’t forget too to check out these other delicious donuts recipes on my blog:

Oreo donuts: If you’re looking for the best baked oreo donuts, you’ve found them! Cakey soft donuts topped with a tangy glaze, utterly delicious!

Chocolate fudge donuts: my chocolate fudge doughnuts are a chocaholic’s dream! Moist chocolate doughnuts, fudgy chocolate glaze and more chocolate to decorate. Yum!

Eggless cinnamon sugar donuts: these eggless cinnamon sugar donuts are utterly addictive! Light and fluffy, these baked donuts are enjoyed by everyone!

And there you have it, my glorious lemon blueberry donuts recipe! Thanks for joining me today, and as always, happy baking, my friends! x

Recommended equipment and ingredients I used *

Donut pan	Digital kitchen scales
Measuring spoons	Mixing bowl/Small bowls
Whisk	Spatula
Jug	Piping bags
Small saucepan	Pastry brush